A Former Officer's Perspective on Appropriate Use of Force

For as long as there has been law enforcement, there have been arguments over how much force police reserve the right to use.

These arguments have come to dominate the national conversation in the wake of the police killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in New York. This conversation has spread to Pittsburgh, in the form of regular protest demonstrations focused on local issues.

Sheldon Williams is a former Pittsburgh Police Officer and a member of the Citizen Police Review Board who answered some of the lingering questions about the use of deadly force by police.

Williams said that he was somewhat skeptical about Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson’s testimony.

“It’s a huge jump from telling someone to get on the sidewalk to the termination of life, and for me to try and understand what has happened there I really really drill down and try to understand it, because its a such a huge leap.”

Based on his experiences, Williams said, for police in any situation, the ultimate goal is to maintain control.

“There are three things that police officers are required to do when they’re on the scene or in the course of their duties:they have to gain control, maintain control, or regain control. So when you look at it from a control aspect, officers are trying to make sure that individuals have a safe environment in which to live and work.”

Related Content

The Pittsburgh Citizen Police Review Board says a white officer should be fired for arresting a black teacher after a community meeting that addressed police relations with the city's black community.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Tuesday's non-binding recommendation that Officer Jonathan Gromek be fired was much harsher than the letter of reprimand he received after an internal investigation — a punishment the city's police union said was too severe.

The public outcry over the killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, two unarmed black men, at the hands of white police officers continues to spark protests around the country.

One of the many legal aspects being called into question in these instances is the role of local prosecutors taking the cases to grand juries. Pitt Law Professor David Harris examines the part that local prosecutors have played in these cases.

Harris says that local prosecutors often have ties to police departments, thus producing a possible conflict of interest. Although sometimes local prosecutors do indeed prosecute police, Harris acknowledges that concerns about impartiality are justifiable.

Pittsburgh’s acting police chief and Mayor Bill Peduto were two panelists in a discussion on police/community relations as part of the Mayor’s Night on Air at the Community Broadcast Center Wednesday evening.

Tensions have been high between police and the black community in Pittsburgh due to issues that have been building up for decades. Now, Peduto said work is underway to change that.

“We have done more than just hiring a police chief; we have created a culture change within Pittsburgh,” Peduto said.

Peduto cited his hiring of Public Safety Director Stephen Bucar and bringing in a new chief from outside the ranks of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. He also said through years of politics in the department, control over the organization and morale has taken a hit. Acting Police Chief Cameron McLay said he has been welcomed by rank-and-file officers, but he knows change won’t occur overnight.

“Culture is a slow thing to change. It takes years and years and years to change culture,” McLay said. “But effective leaders working together can change climate a lot faster, so that’s what we are trying to do here.”

To start to tackle the issue, Peduto said three critical areas within policing need to be reformed. The first is how officers are recruited.